IBHS stresses importance of building codes as part of National Building Safety Month

by jmaloni

Press release

Fri, May 17th 2013 08:45 am

During Disaster Safety and Mitigation Week (May 13-19) - which is part of
National Building Safety Month - the Insurance
Institute for Business & Home Safety is touting the importance
of state enactment and enforcement of modern building codes.

"Severe weather events cause billions of dollars in property damage and
economic losses every year," said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. "The
supplementary disaster aid is designed to incentivize states to do the right
thing by adopting and enforcing strong building codes, which would help their
citizens, businesses and communities during the recovery process following a
disaster."

"We know that modern building codes would significantly improve our
nation's safety and resilience over time, which ultimately will reduce taxpayer
costs from natural disasters," Rochman added.

Last week, the federal Safe Building Code Incentive Act was introduced in
the House of Representatives (H.R. 1878) and Senate (S. 924). The SBCIA
provides qualifying states with an additional 4 percent of funding available
for post-disaster assistance if they utilize nationally recognized model
building codes. Specifically, states would need to adopt and enforce the
international residential code from either of the most recent two updates (2012
or 2009).

Twelve states currently would qualify for the additional 4 percent in
disaster aid under SBCIA: California, New Jersey, District of Columbia, New
Mexico, Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, Utah, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan
and Washington. A number of other states could qualify with relatively minor
changes to their building code systems.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies commissioned a
recent study to specifically examine the impact of the SBCIA and states
adopting and enforcing statewide building codes. The study, which focused on
hurricane and wind damages, revealed that, since 1988, $125 billion in FEMA
grant funds have been issued related to natural disasters. If buildings exposed
to these disasters had been built to model codes, the study found that disaster
aid could have been reduced by nearly 20 percent, or $13 billion.

During post-disaster field investigations, including one conducted
following Hurricane Charley, which struck Florida in 2004, IBHS found that
homes built to modern codes with increased wind resistance were 40 percent less
likely to be damaged and the repair costs were 60 percent lower.

"By encouraging the adoption and enforcement of strong building codes
through measures like the SBCIA, lawmakers can save lives, promote long-term
fiscal stability, reduce public sector response and recovery costs, protect the
environment, and create a more resilient society," Rochman said.